1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to gas turbine engines, and more particularly to valves for bleeding compressed fluid from gas turbine engines.
2. Description of Related Art
Gas turbine engines commonly include functional sections such as a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. During steady state operation the compressor section ingests air from the ambient environment and compresses the fluid using rotational energy provided by the turbine section. The compressor section communicates the compressed air to the combustor section where a mixture of fuel and compressed air is ignited, producing high pressure combustion products which the combustor section then communicates to the turbine section. The turbine section expands the high pressure combustion products, extracting work that is applied as mechanical rotation to the compressor section. Under certain conditions, such as during engine start-up, it can be advantageous to reduce the amount of rotational energy required by the compressor section by reducing the compression that air undergoes in the compressor section. Some gas turbine engines include bleed valves operable to allow compressed air to bypass a portion of the engine, reducing the amount of rotational energy required by the compressor section. Such valves may include a poppet assembly for opening and closing the valve.
Such conventional bleed valves have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for improved bleed valves and methods of operating bleed valves. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.